Consumption of fa cai Nostoc soup: A Potential for BMAA exposure from Nostoc cyanobacteria in China?

Grown in arid regions of western China the cyanobacterium Nostoc flagelliforme - called fa cai in Mandarin and fat choy in Cantonese - is wild-harvested and used to make soup consumed during New Year's celebrations. High prices, up to $125 USD/kg, led to overharvesting in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Degradation of arid ecosystems, desertification, and conflicts between Nostoc harvesters and Mongol herdsman concerned the Chinese environmental authorities, leading to a government ban of Nostoc commerce. This ban stimulated increased marketing of a substitute made from starch. We analysed samples purchased throughout China as well as in Chinese markets in the United States and the United Kingdom. Some were counterfeits consisting of dyed starch noodles. A few samples from California contained Nostoc flagelliforme but were adulterated with starch noodles. Other samples, including those from the United Kingdom, consisted of pure Nostoc flagelliforme. A recent survey of markets in Cheng Du showed no real Nostoc flagelliforme to be marketed. Real and artificial fa cai differ in the presence of beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Given its status as a high-priced luxury food, the government ban on collection and marketing, and the replacement of real fa cai with starch substitutes consumed only on special occasions, it is anticipated that dietary exposure to BMAA from fa cai will be reduced in the future in China.

Elongation Factor ELL (Eleven-Nineteen Lysine-rich Leukemia) Acts as a Transcription Factor for Direct Thrombospondin-1 Regulation

The eleven-nineteen lysine-rich leukemia (ELL) gene undergoes translocation and fuses in-frame to the multiple lineage leukemia gene in a substantial proportion of patients suffering from acute forms of leukemia. Studies show that ELL indirectly modulates transcription by serving as a regulator for transcriptional elongation as well as for p53, U19/Eaf2, and steroid receptor activities. Our in vitro and in vivo data demonstrate that ELL could also serve as a transcriptional factor to directly induce transcription of the thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) gene. Experiments using ELL deletion mutants established that full-length ELL is required for the TSP-1 up-regulation and that the trans-activation domain likely resides in the carboxyl terminus. Moreover, the DNA binding domain may localize to the first 45 amino acids of ELL. Not surprisingly, multiple lineage leukemia-ELL, which lacks these amino acids, did not induce expression from the TSP-1 promoter. In addition, the ELL core-response element appears to localize in the -1426 to -1418 region of the TSP-1 promoter. Finally, studies using zebrafish confirmed that ELL regulates TSP-1 mRNA expression in vivo, and ELL could inhibit zebrafish vasculogenesis, at least in part, through up-regulating TSP-1. Given the importance of TSP-1 as an anti-angiogenic protein, our findings may have important ramifications for better understanding cancer.

Confined LO-phonon-assisted magnetotunneling in a parabolic quantum well with double barriers

The confined longitudinal-optical phonon-assisted tunneling through a parabolic quantum well with double barriers in a magnetic field perpendicular to the interfaces is studied theoretically based on a dielectric continuum model. The numerical results show that the applied magnetic field sharpens and heightens the phonon-assisted tunneling peaks in agreement with experimental observation. Furthermore, the phonon-assisted magnetotunneling peaks shift towards the higher biases as the magnetic field increases. In contrast to the results for a rectangular quantum well, the ratio of peak to valley of the phonon-assisted tunneling is larger for the wider well case. It also indicates that the phonon-assisted tunneling current peaks can be easily observed for a wider parabolic quantum well. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Preparation and characterization of Si sheets by renewed SSP technique

Silicon sheets from powder (SSP) ribbons have been prepared by modified SSP technique using electronic-grade (9N purity) silicon powder. The surface morphology, crystallographic quality, composition and electric properties of the SSP ribbons were investigated by surface profiler, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), metallurgical microscope, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and four-point probe apparatus, respectively. The results show that the SSP ribbon made from electronic-grade silicon powder is a suitable candidate for the substrates of crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells, which could meet the primary requirements of CSiTF solar cell process on the substrates, including surface smoothness, crystallographic quality, purity and electric conductivity, etc. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

QE and Suns-V-oc study on the epitaxial CSiTF solar cells

In order to clarify the major factors having confined the efficiencies of as-prepared crystalline silicon thin film (CSiTF) solar cells on the SSP (silicon sheets from powder) ribbons, QE (quantum efficiency) and Suns-V-oc study were performed on the epitaxial CSiTF solar cells fabricated on the SSP ribbons, the SSP ribbons after surface being zone melting recrystallized (ZMR) and single crystalline silicon (sc-Si) substrates. The results show that the epi-layers deposited on the SSP ribbons have rough surfaces, which not only increases the diffusion reflectance on the surfaces but also makes the anti-reflection coatings become structure-loosened, both of which would deteriorate the light trapping effect; in addition, the epi-layers deposited on the SSP ribbons possess poor crystallographic quality, so the heavy grain boundary (GB) recombination limits the diffusion length of the minority carriers in the epi-layers, which makes the as-prepared CSiTF solar cells suffer the worse spectra response at long-wavelength range. Nearly all the dark characteristic parameters of the CSiTF solar cells are far away from the ideal values. The performances of the CSiTF solar cells are especially affected by too high I-02 (the dark saturation current of space charge region) values and too low R-sh (parallel resistance) values. The higher 102 values are mainly caused by the heavy GB recombination resulting from the poor crystallographic qualities of the silicon active layers in the space charge regions, while the lower R-sh values are attributed to the electrical leakage at the un-passivated PN junction or solar cell edges after the solar cells are cut by the laser scriber.

Dynamics of spin-dependent tunneling through a semiconductor double-barrier structure

The dynamics of spin-dependent tunneling through a nonmagnetic semiconductor double-barrier structure is studied including the k(3) Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling is solved by the time-dependent Schrodinger equation with a developed method for the finite-difference relaxation. The resonant peak and quasibound level lifetime are determined by the in-plane wave vector and the applied electric field. The buildup time and decay lifetime of resonant probability amplitude are different for the spin-down and spin-up electrons due to the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling. Further investigation shows that the steady spin-polarization in both the well and collector regions has been obtained in the time domain. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Calculation of the hourly and daily radiation incident on three step tracking planes

Mathematical formulas for estimating the hourly and daily radiation incident on planes of azimuth three step tracking and hour angle three step tracking have been derived in this paper. Based on the hourly solar radiation data of an average day in each month at Er-Lian-Hao-Te city, the hourly and monthly radiation received by planes of these two kinds of tracking have been calculated. The results show that in this district, one axis azimuth three step tracking and hour angle three step tracking could, respectively, obtain 66.5% and 63.3% higher radiation than that on the horizontal surface all year. Moreover, a two axis azimuth three step tracking plane could receive 72% more radiation than the horizontal surface. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Controllable negative and positive group delay in transmission through a single quantum well at finite magnetic fields

We investigate the controllable negative and positive group delay in transmission through a single quantum well at the finite longitudinal magnetic fields. It is shown that the magneto-coupling effect between the longitudinal motion component and the transverse Landau orbits plays an important role in the group delay. The group delay depends not only on the width of potential well and the incident energy, but also on the magnetic-field strengthen and the Landau quantum number. The results show that the group delay can be changed from positive to negative by the modulation of the magnetic field. These interesting phenomena may lead to the tunable quantum mechanical delay line. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

黄土丘陵区沟谷地植被恢复群落特征研究

对黄土丘陵区2个不同沟向沟谷地植被群落特征进行样方调查,统计分析沟谷地植物物种频度和植物种群相似系数。调查共记录植物81种,隶属31个科,菊科、禾本科和豆科物种分别占物种总数的19.75%、16.05%和14.81%;封禁20年左右的沟谷地植被演替表现出良性演替的趋势;目前该沟谷地植物群落生活型中草本植物仍占主导地位,尤其是多年生草本,而灌乔生活型植物也已占有重要地位。灌乔木树种对植物群落多样性和结构等方面具有重要影响,沟谷地植被分布的斑块格局较为突出,不同沟向沟谷地的灌乔植物种的重要值构成格局存在一定差异,南北沟向较西东沟向分配均匀;沟向不同,沟谷地所形成的植被种群相似性具有一定差异,主要是由于受到一些伴生种和罕见种的影响。此研究对掌握该地形植被演替方向,明确植被恢复任务和目标具有一定意义。

Direct reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur by the coupling of cold plasma and catalyst (I)

The direct reduction of SO2 to elemental sulfur in flue gas by the coupling of cold plasma and catalyst, being a new approach for SO2 reduction, was studied. In this process, CO2 can be disassembled to form CO, which acts as the reductant under the cold plasma. With the coupling of the cold plasma and the catalyst, sulfur dioxide was selectively reduced by CO to elemental sulfur with a byproduct of metal sulfate, e.g., FeSO4. In the present work, Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O3 was employed as the catalyst. The extent of desulfurization was more than 80%, and the selectivity of elemental sulfur is about 55%. The effects of water vapor, temperature, and the components of simulated flue gas were investigated. At the same time, the coupling of thermogravimetry and infrared method and a chemical analysis method were employed to evaluate the used catalyst. In this paper, we will focus on the discussion of the catalyst. The discussions of the detail of plasma will be introduced in another paper.

Persistent organic pollutant residues in the sediments and mollusks from the Bohai Sea coastal areas, North China: An overview

The Bohai Sea costal area is one of the most developed zones of China and the sewage water from populous and developed cities, including Beijing, Tianjin. Qinhuangdao and Dalian is discharged into the Bohai Sea. Additionally, its semi-enclosed characteristic restricts water exchange, which leads to high accumulation of pollutants in the environment. This overview presents the residues of 6 classes of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). including PAHs, DDTs. HCHs, PCBs and PCDD/Fs. in the sediments and mollusks of the Bohai Sea through analyzing previous literatures. In the sediments. the highest PAH concentrations were detected in the vicinities of Qinhuangdao, while the northeast corner of the Bohai Bay possessed the highest levels of DDTs and PCBs. The investigations on HCHs and PCDD/Fs distributions on the whole sea scale have not been reported. In mollusks, PAH concentrations were in the same order of magnitude in the whole Bohai Sea, so were DDTs. HCHs and PCBs, while the outlier maximum values of PCDDs and PCDFs occurred in Yingkou. In general, the POPs residues in mollusks collected from Shandong Province were higher than the other areas. The compositions of DDTs, HCHs and PCBs in sediments indicated their recent usage. By comparing POP concentrations in sediments with the recommended criterions, it was shown that some individual PAH compounds occasionally associated with adverse biological effects in the vicinities of the Liaodong Bay and Qinhuangdao, and the Liaohe River Estuary were heavily contaminated with DDTs, but PCBs were all below the thresholds. In order to reveal the transference and transformation of POPs in the environment, further studies concerning with their behavior, fate and bioaccumulation in the different trophic levels should be programmed. Moreover, laws and regulations should be enforced to ban the illegal usage of POPs-containing pesticides to guarantee health of the environment and human. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

热带亚热带季风气候条件下表生成矿地球化学－以个旧和老挝Nameung、Boloven地区为例

在前人对热带亚热带季风型气候条件下云南个旧砂矿、老挝Xaymomboun特区Ban Nameung铜多金属矿和Champasak省Boloven高原玄武岩等研究成果基础上，采用典型表生矿床实证解剖思路，选择个旧白云岩风化剖面、锡铅砂矿、锰结核、砂矿重选流程、Ban Nameung硫化氧化矿和Boloven玄武岩风化壳等对象，通过岩矿鉴定、主量微量元素地球化学、稀土元素地球化学、人工重砂、化学物相和微区分析等研究手段，研究这些矿床表生成矿物质来源、成矿机理、矿床地球化学特征和矿物工业可利用性等内容，并探索热带亚热带季风型气候条件下典型矿床表生成矿三个问题：（1）Sn、Pb、Mn、Ag、REE、Nb、Ta、Ga和Cd等元素表生富集成矿（矿化）规律；（2）上述元素成矿机理和工业利用可能性；（3）典型矿床其他20几种元素表生贫化与富集规律。研究获得如下主要认识： 1. 个旧地区燕山期以来持续抬升和亚热带季雨林的表生环境，使个旧地区大面积出露的碳酸盐岩风化形成强烈岩溶地貌，碳酸盐岩风化过程中CaO和MgO大量淋失，为砂矿提供了巨大容矿空间，同时碳酸盐地区碱性环境有利于原生硫化矿分解。含矿或不含矿白云岩、花岗岩、玄武岩、夕卡岩和原生硫化矿石等风化形成粘土矿物和铁锰氧化物，释放出Sn、Pb、Mn、Ga、Cd、Ag、In、Cu和Zn等元素，难风化重矿物如锡石表生残留富集，而粘土矿物和铁锰氧化物对成矿元素吸附是砂矿表生成因机理之一。 2. 个旧地区岩溶型砂矿形成机理为：（1）原生重矿物残留富集成矿，如锡石、磁铁矿。（2）金属硫化物残留成矿，如砂矿中残存大量方铅矿、黄铜矿、黄铁矿，是原生硫化物残留结果。（3）表生矿物富集成矿，如白铅矿、孔雀石、自然铅和自然铜等富集。（4）铁锰氧化物吸附和包裹成矿，如铁锰氧化物吸附Pb和Ga等元素，包裹含Pb和Zn微粒矿物。（5）锰结核吸附包裹成矿，锰结核吸附和包裹Sn、Pb和Cu等元素和微粒矿物。（6）类质同象成矿，如Ga和Al类质同象，Cd和Zn等类质同象成矿。（7）岩溶作用成矿，岩溶落水洞或溶洞内水流冲刷使锡石等重矿物富集成矿。元素表生成矿不仅是单一成矿作用结果，而是综合作用结果，如Pb有表生矿物富集成矿，也有铁锰氧化物吸附成矿。 3. 砂矿中锰结核是锰铁结核，主要成分为Fe2O3 、Al2O3、SiO2和MnO等，包裹了赤铁矿、方解石、云母、石英、蒙脱石、高岭石、白云石、钾长石等和锡石、白铅矿等矿物。锰结核中Mn、Sn、Pb、Ag、Ga、Cd和In富集成矿，Cu和Zn富集矿化，锰结核比砂矿更富集Mn、Pb和REE，其成矿机理应是吸附和包裹成矿元素或矿物使其富集成矿。 4. 个旧表生砂矿共生伴生组分复杂，有用矿物有锡石、方铅矿、白铅矿、黄铜矿、自然铅、自然铜、孔雀石、软锰矿、白钨矿、磁铁矿和褐铁矿等。模拟岩溶作用自然过程中砂矿矿物流向的源兴采选车间砂矿重选流程结果表明，锡铅精矿中Pb、Ga、Mo、Cd、In、Cu和Zn等金属总实收率仅为3.03％～6.44％，绝大部分金属留在了尾矿中。一段床和矿泥床分析中，Ag和Mn回收率低于0.66％～0.29％，Ag富集在硫化物态中，没有富集在铁锰氧化物态中；Mn富集在碳酸盐态中，没有铁锰氧化物态中。整个流程中Pb、Mn、Cu和Zn等富集在碳酸盐态矿物中，没有富集在硫化物态中。选矿流程没有利用具有潜在利用价值矿物如磁铁矿。重选流程解释了岩溶过程能富集Pb、Mn、Cu和Zn的碳酸盐矿物，不能富集这些元素的硫化矿物。 5. 老挝Ban Nameung硫化矿氧化初期，风化产物中Ag、Pb、Zn和Cu淋失，SiO2、K2O和CaO富集，风化后期Ag、Fe和Mn富集。硫化矿风化过程中，Au硫化物态部分变为有机态和铁锰氧化物态；Ag硫化物态部分变为铁锰氧化物态和有机态；Cu硫化物态部分变为铁锰氧化物态和碳酸盐态；Pb硫化物态、吸附态、碳酸盐态和铁锰氧化物态部分变为铁锰氧化物态、碳酸盐态和有机态；Zn硫化物态变为部分铁锰氧化物态、有机态、碳酸盐态和吸附态矿物。随着风化作用加强，上述几种相态比例还会改变。 6. 老挝Boloven新生代亚碱性玄武岩富Nb、Ta和Ga等微量元素，风化壳中REE、Nb、Ta和Ga已富集成矿，∑REE最高775×10-6～1003×10-6，（Nb2O5＋Ta2O5）最高642×10-6~656×10-6，Ga最高81.6 ×10-6。风化壳中达到边界品位的（Nb2O5＋Ta2O5）厚度有2m以上。REE可能存在于含P和Ti矿物中，也可能形成REE独立矿物。Nb、Ta和Ga应赋存在Ti、U、Zr和Th矿物中，其成矿应是重矿物表生残留富集结果，与粘土矿物吸附和三水铝石关系不紧密。

How smokers may react to cigarette taxes and price increases in Brazil: data from a national survey

Background: Despite being the third largest tobacco producer in the world, Brazil has developed a comprehensive tobacco control policy that includes a broad restriction on both advertising and smoking in indoor public places, compulsory pictorial warning labels, and a menthol cigarette ban. However, tax and pricing policies have been developed slowly and only very recently were stronger measures implemented. This study investigated the expected responses of smokers to hypothetical price increases in Brazil.Methods: We analyzed smokers' responses to hypothetical future price increases according to sociodemographic characteristics and smoking conditions in a multistage sample of Brazilian current cigarette smokers aged >= 14 years (n = 500). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between possible responses and different predictors.Results: in most subgroups investigated, smokers most frequently said they would react to a hypothetical price increase by taking up alternatives that might have a positive impact on health, i.e., they would try to stop smoking (52.3%) or smoke fewer cigarettes (46.8%). However, a considerable percentage responded that they would use alternatives that would reduce the effect of price increases, such as the same brand with lower cost (48.1%). After controlling for sex age group (14-19, 20-39, 40-59, and >= 60 years), schooling level (>= 9 versus <= 9 years), number of cigarettes per day (>20 versus <= 20), and stage of change for smoking cessation (precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation), lower levels of dependence were positively associated with the response I would try to stop smoking (odds ratio [OR], 2.19). Young age was associated with I would decrease the number of cigarettes (OR, 3.44). A low schooling level was strongly associated with all responses.Conclusions: Taxes and prices increases have great potential to stimulate cessation or reduction of cigarette consumption further among two important vulnerable populations of smokers in Brazil: young smokers and those of low educational level. the results from the present study also suggest that seeking illegal products may reduce the impact of increased taxes, but does not eliminate it.

Trash or Treasure? Censorship and the Changing Meanings of the Video Nasties

Egan, K. (2007). Trash or Treasure?: Censorship and the Changing Meanings of the Video Nasties. InsidePopular Film. Manchester: Manchester University Press. RAE2008